Peter White, who had covered Blackburn Rovers for the Telegraph for almost 20 years, collapsed and died suddenly at his home in Great Harwood in May 2000 at the age of 51.

He covered Rovers' rise from a penniless Third Division club to Premier League champions, and the sporting world paid tribute to the paper's deputy sports editor after his passing.

On the anniversary of Rovers' Premier League title win, here is how he reported on that tense, but ultimately euphoric, final day at Anfield.

Kenny Dalglish and Jack Walker could win the Eurovision Song Contest if they put their minds to it.

On a sunlit evening at Anfield, the team built by Jack’s millions and Kenny’s know-how carried off the Premiership title to prove that dreams really do come true.

Blackburn Rovers lost a football match, staged in the setting of an Anfield carnival.

But they won a much bigger battle – the one that began way back on August 20 in rather more sedate surroundings.

While Jamie Redknapp was scoring the winner for Liverpool that turned out to mean nothing at all in terms of the title race, his dad, West Ham boss Harry, was masterminding the draw against Manchester United at Upton Park that was to mean everything.

The remarkable set of circumstances that dictated the championship climax made the hours spent on Merseyside yesterday the weirdest I have ever known in almost 30 years of reporting football.

Liverpool supporters wanted their own team to finish on a high. But the vast majority of them also wanted to see Rovers – or more to the point Kenny Dalglish – claim the  crown infront of Manchester United.

It’s also a strange experience watching a game when you know that if things go wrong, as they eventually did, events a couple of hundred miles away could prove decisive.

Once before, when Rovers were pipped for promotion to the old First Division in 1981,there was a similar scenario.

But that time it was out of their control and in Swansea’s. And it went wrong. This time it went wrong but it also went right, very right, if you see what I mean.

The game itself was really academic in the end. Rovers began it on 89 points and that’s where they finished as Liverpool came outfighting in the second half to claim victory.

Rarely will you see a winning goal celebrated by both sets of fans but that is what happened.

For when Redknapp’s superb freekick settled the game, the teams were still lining up for the restart when the news of the final whistle at Upton Park came through. And the celebrations began – with the game continuing!

It would have been nice to see Rovers win the title with style and victory in the last match. But the reality of it is that it doesn’t really matter.

You have to hand it to Dalglish. He got it right again, having said that Rovers might not even need to win this game to take the championship.

Mind you, that didn’t stop thousands of fans experiencing tension beyond belief before that final whistle – in London not Anfield –put them out of their agony.

Yet it had all started too comfortably, like an afternoon stroll in the sunshine.

Liverpool enjoyed plenty of possession and drew a few pretty patterns across the pitch. But they only rarely threatened Tim Flowers’ goal and couldn’t make anything out of the chances which came their way.

John Barnes had one of the best but blasted high over the bar after the troublesome Steve McManaman had opened up the Rovers rearguard.

Robbie Fowler also hit a post, and Ian Pearce and Flowers prevented Nigel Clough and Michael Thomas making a first half breakthrough

for the Reds. And, in the middle of it all, Alan Shearer had scored what looked as though it could be a priceless goal.

Henning Berg knocked an accurate ball forward for Shearer to lay-off expertly into Stuart Ripley’s path. His cross was good and Shearer strode in to fire a low drive into the far bottom corner from just beyond penalty spot range.

The news that West Ham were leading at Upton Park was doubly reassuring. Rovers were on their way, or were they?

The start of the second half produced more sparring between the two teams.

But then John Barnes scored and the nerves were jangling. A lovely Liverpool move ended with a low cross from Mark Kennedy and Barnes ran in to steer It home.

With 13 minutes left, David Batty seemed to have brought down Fowler but the referee waved aside Liverpool penalty claims.

Three minutes later, Rovers should have won it. Phil Babb made a hash of a back-pass to let in Shearer who was challenged by keeper David James. The ball ran loose to Chris Sutton but his shot was too tentative and John Scales was able to belt it to safety.

The tension mounted, with the scorelines level in Liverpool and London.

We went into stoppage time and a free kick just outside the box saw Redknapp hit an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Then news of United’s draw filtered through, pandemonium broke out and Rovers were home and dry – saluted by a magnificent

Liverpool crowd, who chanted: ‘Champions... Champions’.

And, if Jack and Kenny ever do turn to songwriting, they should consider Henning Berg on vocals.

Well, Norway did win the Eurovision Song Contest. You see, miracles do happen elsewhere too.

Speaking after his passing in 2000, Kenny Dalglish said: "His work was a labour of love. He was a supporter as well as a journalist.

"He was delighted when we got into the Premiership through the play-offs and enjoyed winning the title as much as anyone in the stands.

"But if we didn't play well, he would say it and that's acceptable because it was never personal.

"Pete was a very easy person to talk to and someone you could trust.

"It's terrible for his family but it's also a blow for Blackburn Rovers because a club needs a local journalist like that."